Women’s Volleyball Team Preparing for Playoffs

The players are in the huddle with both coaches as they make adjustments during the match. (PHOTO: VERITY ROLLINS)

The women’s volleyball team is focusing on the remaining CUNY Athletic Conference games to make the playoffs after their ugly start to the season.

The team’s record under .500 does not justify what they want to accomplish this season. Despite the losses and the presence of the team being down, they are still in the hunt for the playoffs. Head Coach Ashley Greene, who is in her third season expresses her thoughts on the team.

“Physically speaking the athletic talent that we have this year is by far anything that York has seen in years,” said Greene. “I also think that the dedication level is one of the best that we seen in a long time. I just think that we’re having a hard time clicking and having that drive to push us further. We have the talent, but we just get struck in the mental game of it, not the physical game.”

Greene also believes that a lack of leadership is also affecting the mental aspect on the players. They don’t have that player this year with the loss of former captain Evelyn Florentino. She describes moments in the game where one or two players had their off game and it affected the team as a whole.

The team in the CUNYAC standings are currently 1-3 and tied for the six spot. These games are crucial for their season and she believes that they will make the playoffs despite the record.

“My attitude as a coach is I’ve been really trying to staying positive and let the girls know that at the end of the day, overall record means nothing as far as longevity,” said Greene. “We can be 8-30 and be conference champions so just keep giving them that mentality and that hope. It doesn’t matter if these are non-league games or non-conferences games, we really are just focusing on those last four conference games. If we do win all, we will be way up in the three or four range which puts in a good position for playoffs.”

The CUNY athletic conference overall has become a level playing field for everyone including the Cardinals. This season the teams in the conference have a combined record of 20-20 according to the CUNYAC website. It’s an average conference that makes any team capable of winning the championship regardless of their seeding. Greene is also using the non-league games and the last couple of practices to prepare the team for the remaining conference games.

“Were using these non-conference games to make those adjustments that we didn’t fix in September and so far the adjustments we made have got us those wins,” said Greene. “So we’re just using these last couple of practices to kind of figure out what lineups and who’s playing where works.”

While the team is getting prepared for the remaining conference games, one player on the team has been consistent throughout the season. Senior Stayce Kay Muirhead is having a great season and won athlete of the month in September. She explains what needs to be done in practice to win the remaining games in the season.

“We need to play at 100 percent,” said Muirhead. “When you play at practice at your full potential, you tend to play at the games to your full potential.”

Murihead believes in what the coach brings to the team in terms of pushing the players and helping them out on the game plan. The team throughout the season had disagreements and quarrels in losses and practices. Murihead believes that if they put that aside, things will work for the team heading into the playoffs.

“We just need to be one,” said Muirhead. “We all just need to focus on ourselves and the job that we have to do then everything will fall into play.”